Tag Archives: Easter

Israeli Palestinian Conflict – How many more…?

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It is ironic one of the important Christian festivals on the calendar is being celebrated this weekend against the background of continuing conflict in the Middle East. It is reported Christianity started with a small group of Jewish origin in Judea. Ironic because Judea was located in the space occupied by Israel and Palestine; an area of decades of conflict. Many believers AND non-believers will justifiably ask – why has a region anchored in Christianity been unable to resolve decades of man made conflict that has resulted in the deaths and injury to hundreds of thousand of men, women, children?

Source: drill_josh (@Josh Drill) 

As if the Israel/PLO conflicts is not enough, political instability in Israel has not made it easy with years of coalition governments comprised of Conservatives, Liberals, Right-wing, Zionists to name a few feeding a polarizing environment.

When will it end …?

Solutions Barbados Easter Message

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Jesus’ resurrection confirmed to us that we are being trained for something greater. Jesus explained that there was an enemy of humanity who wants to distract and divide us, so that we harm eachother and accomplish less. This Easter, let us determine to reject what divides us and encourage eachother on our individual training paths.

The most influential dividers in a nation are its political operatives. They have developed a method of political success, but economic failure, in all developing countries, using the same four steps.
Step 1 is for a newly elected administration to alarm the population that that there is no money. This is used to justify sending home supporters of the last administration, regardless of how competent they are.
Step 2 is to place the least competent political party supporters in management positions, thus guaranteeing low efficiency, low productivity, and low national competitiveness. Step 3 is to give no-bid contracts to political supporters.
Step 4 is to damage the professional reputations and businesses of anyone seen as a threat to their party being re-elected. Economic harm of the nation is guaranteed by starving about half of its most productive resources of business opportunities, for political reasons, for 5 years periods.
There is a defined political season of about one month when the proverbial gloves come off. But after that time, there should be unity for the benefit of Barbados. It is in the political operatives’ interests to keep us divided outside of the political season.
Political operatives limit the definition of Barbadian to mean political party supporters. While their party governs, they direct rewards to those who praise the administration’s every failure as an achievement. They also direct persecution towards any who dare offer an honest analysis.
We need to acknowledge that we are all Barbadians, and all entitled to the same opportunities. Our political leaders normally repeat this ideal, but their operatives ensure that it is never achieved. It is time for political leaders to restrain their operatives, for the good of all Barbadians.
Grenville Phillips II is a Chartered Structural Engineer and President of Solutions Barbados. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com

Christian, Lent and Hypocrisy!

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easterThis is the season of Lent and this weekend represents the highlight of the season when willl Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some Barbadians are justified in their argument that Barbadians have shifted from traditional values with an anchor in a Christian upbringing that have served us well up to recent. This is debate for another time.

The blogmaster is of the view that traditional values with its Christian underpinning should be manifested in how individuals that subscribe to the faith treat with their fellow man on a 24/7 basis. It was with great interest a statement credited to Minister of Youth Stephen Lashley’s resonated with the BU household.

Indeed I believe that we need to spend more time in the media highlighting more of the good work that they continue to do. I think there is an overbalance or excessive commentary in print and electronic media and now on social media, which seeks to highlight every possible negative activity of some of our youth,” he said…

I think that it is a national scandal and it gives an embellished reflection of our young people. I have a lot of confidence in the ability of our young people to rise above an over reliance on negativity.

  • Minister Stephen Lashley

Here is a simple point we want to share with the minister. Nothing wrong with his statement if taken at face value. The blogmaster is also concerned about the malicious and ignorant use of social media. However as leaders, the blogmaster is of the view, we must practice what we preach to achieved positive outcomes.

Surely Minister Stephen Lashley is aware that some of the most vile communication shared in the social media space is perpetrated by ministers of government, Senators, parliamentary secretaries and surrogates from the political class (political parties)? The blogmaster can produce the evidence in a heartbeat to support but we will compromise our position- demonstrated for the past 10 years- that what is shared with the blogmaster, stays with the blogmaster.

The BU household extends best wishes to the BU family for the season.

If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. Let them see.
― Henry David Thoreau

Moral Authority Of The Church Under Threat At Eastertide

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Digital image by Judy Green

It seems the biggest irony that Pope Benedict XV a German should be under pressure at this time because of the role the Catholic has played in covering up sex offences through the years. Perhaps now more than at any time in recent history the moral authority of the Church is being challenged. Other denominations may want to believe that they are absolved from the growing public perception that problems in the Church is confined to one or the other. The reality of the situation is that the perception of the Church is probably seen by many as having a more amorphous meaning. The Church still represents to many the moral anchor, the possibility that it maybe losing its relevance at a time when cultural relativism is on the rise continues to be a big concern to many.

In 1989 the dismantling of the Berlin Wall signalled the end of the cold war period, Reagan the Capitalist had triumphed over Gorbachev the Communist, from their current locations they both might agree it was truly an epiphanous event. Some are wondering at this Eastertide if Pope Benedict XV will demonstrate the courage to use his position to signal to the world once and for all that the Catholic Church is ready to exorcise the sex demon which continues to besmirch the work of the Church.  Twenty years after the felling of the Berlin Wall we live in a world which still wants to believe that there is someone greater, they maybe ready for yet another epiphanous event.

In any society there is always a place for the wise and intellectual among us. One thing we know is that to believe in God requires faith, no amount of debate whether in a docile or rancorous form can change this reality. While some may argue that religion has been used to brainwash the ignorant; there is the value position which some forget religion teaches of good and bad which has played its role in weaving modern day societies now under threat from moral degradation. If we are to believe that religion has no place in the emerging multicultural societies the question must be answered – What will replace it?

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